A North Korean patrol boat retreated after briefly crossing the west sea border into South Korea on Thursday, the South's military officials said."A North Korean patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and sailed up to 0.36 kilometers into waters east of South Korea's Baengnyeong Island at about 11 a.m. while trying to cracking down on Chinese fishing boats illegally operating there," one of the officials said.The Northern vessel retreated at around 11:07 a.m. after warning signs were

North Korea appears to be still operating one of its largest political prison camps, contrary to media reports that it might have been shuttered, a major human rights group here said based on satellite imagery of the site.The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) issued a report, in partnership with DigitalGlobe, on the reclusive communist nation's notorious gulags.Multiple photos, taken from November 2010 to October 2012, show buildings and activity in Camp 22 in the northeastern cou

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has dismissed or purged 31 senior officials including the former chief of the military's general staff since being anointed heir to his father and longtime leader Kim Jong-il in 2010, a South Korean lawmaker claimed Tuesday.The younger Kim, who took power after his father's death last December, dismissed four members of the Central Military Commission of the North's ruling Workers' Party in September 2010, and purged 27 other ranking officials between 2011 and 201

North Korea suffered flood damage at its major nuclear test site but it has made good progress in restoration, security experts said Monday, citing satellite photos."Satellite imagery of North Korea's underground nuclear test site at Punggye-ri in the country's northeastern corner shows that significant repairs have been undertaken to mitigate damage caused by this summer's floods," said James Hardy and Allison Puccioni, analysts at IHS Janes, a London-based security information firm.South Korea

Three private aid groups were given approval for their plans to send aid goods to North Korea, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Monday.The ministry said it gave permission to three small private groups, including "Toward Peace in Korea," to ship a total of 200 million won ($181,077) worth of food, nutritional supplements and other aid goods to nurseries and hospitals in the North.The goods will be shipped via either China or the land border between the two countries, it said.Cross-border shipme

SEOUL, (Yonhap) -- North Korea repeated its claim Saturday that the only maritime border in the western Yellow Sea is the one drawn by Pyongyang, condemning the South Korean president's recent trip to an island near the border where he urged increased efforts to deter any border violation by the communist nation.South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday said the country's service members must stake their own lives if necessary to safeguard the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto maritim

North Korea has unilaterally imposed hefty taxes on eight South Korean firms operating in the joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Gaesong, a Seoul government official said Friday."Eight out of 123 South Korean companies in the Gaesong complex were slapped with taxes totaling $160,000," the Unification Ministry official said, requesting anonymity.Of the eight firms, one was levied $87,000 and another was ordered to pay $30,000, the official said, adding another firm has already

North Korea's leadership has dissolved a key communist party organization tasked with managing slush funds for the ruling Kim family, a news report said Wednesday.Japan's Kyodo News Service reported Pyongyang has abolished the agency, code-named "Office 38," under the Workers' Party of Korea.It quoted unidentified "sources familiar with North Korean affairs." Kyodo's story has not been confirmed i

A local court issued a warrant on Wednesday to arrest the South Korean foster daughter of Hwang Jang-yop, the late highest-ranking North Korean defector, on suspicion of fraud.A 70-year-old woman surnamed Kim was accused of snatching about3 billion won (US$2.7 million) for the past three years from three investors with her accomplice, surnamed Yoon, after falsely saying they would give them rights

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. government expressed worries Monday once again over North Koreans stricken with hunger, amid reports of no improvement in their life under new leadership.Kim Jong-un, in his late 20s, took over power 10 months ago, raising some hopes of meaningful changes in the policy of the communist country, which has long placed a focus on beefing up its military arsenal.But there is no sign that Pyongyang is averting its course, with many of its 24 million people starving

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― In a rare meeting in China late last month, North Korea made clear to the United States that it would continue its nuclear programs as long as the U.S. maintains what it termed a hostile policy, a news report said Tuesday.Clifford Hart, the Obama administration’s special envoy to the now-suspended six-party talks, met informally with two senior North Korean officials in Dalian, China, on the sidelines of the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue.The two-day forum from Se

Some 4,000 North Koreans are estimated to be working at major construction sites in a suburb of the Kuwaiti capital and living in military-style camps run by the North's government, a Seoul diplomat said Monday. Impoverished North Korea has recruited its people to work abroad and reportedly kept most of their earnings, one of the few sources of hard currency for the isolated regime. Along with Chi